V2 AI appoints partners and directors in Melbourne and Perth
V2 AI, a Sydney-headquartered data and AI consultancy, has continued the expansion of its leadership team with four new appointments.
In Melbourne, the company has appointed Holly Dean as Partner and Jean-Manuel Becker as Director, while Richard Allen and Derek Bingham have been appointed as Partner and Director respectively in the recently launched Perth office.
V2 AI Founder and CEO Craig Howe said the four appointments reflect strong and growing demand for AI solutions among enterprises across Australia. “AI has the potential to redefine how Australia harnesses its natural resources, improves operational efficiency and advances toward a more sustainable energy future.”
“Richard, Derek, Holly, and Jean-Manuel bring exceptional AI advisory, engineering, customer partnership and leadership experience. I’m excited to see how they will help our clients harness AI to create lasting positive impact.”
Richard Allen joins V2 AI after over a decade at Amazon Web Services (AWS), most recently serving as Global Account Manager for some of Australia’s largest enterprise customers. Prior to AWS, he built more than two decades of experience in driving innovation, partnering with organisations in resources, construction and agriculture sectors to better align technology and business outcomes
“Western Australian organisations are increasingly looking beyond AI experimentation towards enterprise deployment,” said Allen. “V2 AI combines deep technical expertise with practical delivery capability, making it uniquely positioned to help customers realise value quickly and responsibly.”
Derek Bingham brings more than 20 years of experience in software architecture, cloud engineering and developer leadership, with a recent focus on applying AI to enterprise software delivery. He most recently led engineering teams as a Principal Software Engineer at a major Australian bank, where he used AI tooling to modernise the core banking platform and upskill engineers.
Before that, he previously spent more than eight years at AWS, serving as both Senior Developer Advocate and Senior Partner Solutions Architect, where he helped organisations adopt cloud-native technologies and modern engineering practices. Bingham has also held senior engineering leadership roles across financial services, consulting and technology.
“Enterprise AI success depends on strong engineering foundations,” said Bingham. “AI in software delivery creates a compounding capability across the enterprise. I am excited to build the governance, assurance, observability and security foundations for scaling AI across every business function.”
Holly Dean has more than 20 years of experience leading partnerships, channel growth and enterprise sales across global technology organisations like Salesforce, AWS, Microsoft, Sitecore and Stax. She has helped brands accelerate business expansion through compliant technology adoption at pace.
At V2 AI, Dean will focus on AI capability uplift through innovation and growth. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to enterprise AI. The real challenge is designing an AI strategy that reflects an organisation’s regulatory requirements, business goals and customer expectations. That’s where we come in. Creating bespoke AI strategies that really move the needle,” said Dean.
Jean-Manuel Becker brings more than three decades of engineering and leadership experience in technology and data modernisation. Most recently, as Principal Cloud Architect at AWS, he helped organisations across energy, mining, aviation, public sector, and financial services build the secure, governed digital foundations necessary for lasting AI value.
“The best data and AI strategies start with business outcomes, not technology,” said Becker. “My focus at V2 AI is building enduring capability through secured architecture that scales and continues delivering value long after a project is complete.”
Founded in 2023, V2 AI operates across Asia Pacific with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
